The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-10-02
CHAPTER XIV tcontinued.l

Tha nicht came James Burbank halted for
Wv hours. then the rest of the night speedily
Jinned away. The road lay in silence through
he sleeping cypress Not breath Oh
Wind troubled the dome of foliage. The moon
,utIinsd on the ground q light network Oh
ihadow. The river murmured In It's almost
Sevel bed; many shoals appeared abovei its sur
lace and showed that 1t could be easily crossed
necessary.
After a halt of two hours, the march was re-
umed, but during this day the guidine-thread
occasionally gave out, as though the end OF the
xkein would soon be reached. The river was
mere streak diving every now and then under
dump of cinchonas, while beyond the cypress
forest shut in three quarters OF the horizon. AT
last it gave out altogether; they had passed It's
source.
And now they reached cemetery reserved.
according to native custom, for the blacks VINO
had become Christians and died in the faith.
Here and there were humble crosses. some OF
wood. rising from the little mounds and mark
ing the graves between the trees. Two or three
,arial bnr;als had taken place, and the skeletons
we're gently swaying in the wind on their cradle
Of boughs.
.sThe existence of q cemetery" said Carol,
sought to show that we near a village
(which need not exist" said Gilbert, for 1t
IL not on our map; and villages often disappear
in these parts, owing to the inhabitants aoan-
donsng them or their being destroyed by In
dams"
s'Gibert,n said James Burbank. "what shall
vo do now the St Johns has gone outF'
"We must follow the compass. However thick
.ha ,ora.. NAV be- il will be impossible for rs to
lose ourselves"
"Well. let us get on said Mars. who could
hardly keep still during these stoppages' LET
ma an and trust TO Providence"
Half a mile beyond the negro cemetery they
came ont on to q green plain, and, compass In
hand, struck off due south.
During the first part Of the day no incident
occurred. Up to then nothing had been found
10 give clue; would it be so to the endf Would
they attain their object, or would the end be de-
ypairi o.,, ..,.,.
At noon they stopped. Gilbert, taking ac-
eount OF the distance from Lake Washington es-
timated that they were still fifty miles from
Okee-cho-bee. Eight days had elapsed since
shey left Candies bay, and more than three
hundred miles had been traversed with excep-
t;onal rapidity 1t the absence Of heavy rain,
which would have made the course OF the St.
Johns unnavgable, and flooded the country,
and in the clearness of the moon. everything had
been favorable for the journey.
A comparatively short distance now separ-
ated them from Carneral island, and they ex-
pected to reach it during the next two days
What was to happen then it was impossible t
foresee.
Rnt if hitherto good fortune had been theirs.
it seemed as though they were now to meet with
insurmountable difficulties
The journey had been resumed as usual after
the MONDAY meal The character Of the road
had not changed
There were still large sheets Of water and
nd tiuv atr q b0 crossed
knee-deep.
.sThere can be no doubt" said James Bur-
hank. ..that body Of men have recently passed
here"
.sWhere do the footsteps como 'FRONT.' Where
do they 60 tot" asked Gilbert I'VE must find
that out before we do anything else"
And they set to work to do 80.
For five hundred yards to the east they traced
the foot. steps, and it seemed useless TO go
further. II was clearly shown that band of
from a hundred and fifty to two hundred men
had come from the Allan tic coast into the cypress
Grove The footprints were continued westward
towards the Gulf of Mexico. and thus seemed to
lead across the peninsula, which is here only two
hundred miles wide. It was apparent that these
men had camped the very spot that the Bur-
banks were now examining and Gilbert and
Mars went off to follow the westward trail for q
little. To their astonishment. they found That
IL soon turned to the south. When they re-
turned, Gilbert explained.
1--WE are preceded by a body of men who are
going the same road as we are. They are armed
for we found the bits of the cartridges they
used to light their fires with. Who they are 1
know not. All 1 say is that they are
numerous, and are going to the Everglades"
"Are they not q band OF wandering Semi
noles7 asked Edward Carroll
NO. answered Mars; "the footprints show
sPerhaps soldiers of the Floridan militia.
said James Burbank.
sThat is to be feared, said Perry. "They
seem to me to be- too many Of them to belong to
Texsr."
"Unless he has been joined by some OF his par
tisans who must have come to him in hun
dreds," said Carol.
1--WE are only seventeen" said the overseer
.'What does that metter2" exclaimed Gilbert.
''Ir they attack us not of Us will rum"
mo! mol" said all of his companions.
Their courage the same as it had been;
but IL seemed hard to meet with obstacle
when so their object. And what al OBJ
stacle! A detachment of Southerners, come tc
Join the Spanard in the Everglades until the
time came for them to appear again in the north
of Florida. Therein was the danger. All feltit
TO be So And after the first display Of enthusi
asm, they stood silent, looking at their chief
and asking what orders he would give Ever
Gilbert shared in the common impression, bu
Notwithstanding ne gave the word
Forward"
CHAPTER XVI
MEETING.
Yes: forward they must go. But under these
FERROUS circumstances every precaution wa
taken 1t was indispensable TO clear the march
70 reconnoiter the thicket the road, to b.
ready for anything
The weapons were carefully examined an,